This invention relates to a wheel cutter blade containing grinding granules which are used for processing metals, stones and other hard materials. More particularly, this invention relates to a wheel cutter blade having an improved means for attaching the cutter bodies to the blade.
Most wheel cutter blades of the prior art have shapes and structures such as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. That is, a round blade base plate 1 is pivotably fixed to a driving axis (not shown). A number of blade bodies 2 containing grinding granules are segmentally disposed about the periphery of blade base plate 1, with blade grooves 3 having a fixed depth and width between adjacent blade bodies 2. As is shown in FIG. 2, each blade body 2 has a thickness greater than blade base plate 1.
Blade base plate 1 is made mostly from a steel plate or a sintered metal plate. Each blade body 2 is a sintered body, having a composition such as Alundum, corundum or other grinding granules, copper, iron, cobalt and the like. An improved cutting force is also achieved by mixing diamond into the grinding granules.
Each of blade bodies 2 are identically shaped, and are individually joined and fixed to base plate 1 after molding and sintering. The grinding granules are scattered equally throughout the whole blade body 2, including the portion where blade body 2 is affixed to base plate 1. Therefore, a conventional wheel cutter blade has a large amount of grinding granules present at joining faces 4 of blade base plate 1 and blade body 2. Because the composition of blade bodies 2 and blade base plate 1 differ, perfect fixation of blade bodies 2 to blade base plate 1 is extremely difficult. These joining regions represent regions of significant weakness in the composition of the wheel cutter blade. This discontinuity at joining faces 4 in a conventional wheel cutter blade often results in separation of blade bodies 2 from blade base plate 1 at joining faces 4 during operation. Usually, blade body 2 itself is rarely broken, because it has been designed to a have a hardness greater than the hardness of the metal or stones being processed. However, blade bodies 2 can exfoliate, or drop off from blade base plate 1 at an early stage before blade bodies 2 are worn, so that the wheel cutter blade cannot be further used. Therefore, the useful lifespan of the wheel cutter blade is shortened.
More importantly, the dropping-off of blade bodies 2 may cause scattering of broken pieces of the wheel cutter blade during operation. Therefore, a dangerous situation often is created by these flying broken pieces, and may result in property damage or personal injury to a wheel cutter operator.